Summary

Escavada Black-on-white, ungulate animal effigy, Chaco Cibola, AMNH Accession 29.1, Catalog #3210. Analyzed by Lori Reed 2004. Medium quartz sand temper (exposed on surface) and washy slip indicate manufacture in the Chaco region. Effigy is poorly reconstructed with plaster material and commercial paint. Head, legs, and parts of the body are original, but at least 50% is a reconstruction. Measurements: 2 cm rim diameter (top of head), 10.1 cm height from feet to back, 17 cm height from feet to top of head. Image AMNH 29.1/3210 A: anterior (front) view showing legs with hooves and head with snout and horns. Image AMNH 29.1/3210 B: left lateral view showing profile of head, broken strap handle with partial reconstruction, and painted design on body. Recovered from Earl Morris excavation of Kiva Q, Aztec West Ruin. Kiva Q is located in the southwest corner of the plaza adjacent to Rooms 105-109 in the South Wing. The only published reference to Kiva Q is in Morris (1924) in which he compares Kiva A.2 in the Annex with Kiva Q. "Kiva A.2 is of a different type, but from its similarity to Kiva Q in the main ruin, which is of known Chaco age, it must be considered contemporaneous with Kiva A.1. Where Chaco kivas occur detached from the building to which they pertain, they are sunk deep into the earth, but when incorporated within the building mass most of their altitude is above ground" (Morris 1924:257). Reference: Earl Morris, 1924, Burials in the Aztec Ruin and the Aztec Ruin Annex, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History Vol. XXVI, Parts III and IV, American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Individual & Institutional Roles

Record Identifiers

American Museum of Natural History(s): Accession 29.0

Notes

Rights & Attribution: Artifact was collected from Aztec West Ruin excavations by Earl Morris between 1916 and 1922. Morris' excavations were sponsored and funded by the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Rights & Attribution: High resolution images of the item are archived and available to researchers through the National Park Service, Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Rights & Attribution: Publication or use of the image is restricted; permission may be obtained through consultation with American Museum of Natural History and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Source Collections

Original Item: American Museum of Natural History, New York

Image: NPS, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Related Comparative Collections

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at Hibben Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at American Museum of Natural History, New York